Lasagna Soup is an easy Italian American dinner made with Italian sausage, broken lasagna noodles and crushed tomatoes, ready in 30 minutes. One pot serves four, and the noodles boil separately while the sauce builds. Ricotta and sliced basil go on top of each bowl.
I break traditional lasagna noodles into rough pieces instead of reaching for the no-boil kind. No-boil sheets go slimy in broth, while the regular ones keep an edge and a chew. Drizzle them with oil in the colander so they do not weld together.
Two tablespoons of tomato paste go in after the sausage browns, and they need two full minutes. The paste should darken from bright red to brick, which is when the raw tinned taste cooks off. Scrape the browned bits off the bottom while you stir, since that is most of the flavor.
Lasagna Soup
Course: SoupCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalA cup of plain water joins the four cups of broth, which thins the tomatoes just enough to stay soup. The cream and Parmesan go in last, with only two minutes of simmering after them.
Ingredients
- For the Noodles:
Kosher salt
8 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into pieces (about 10 noodles)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- For the Soup:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 cup water
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
- For Topping:
Ricotta cheese
Thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
Extra grated Parmesan (optional)
Directions
- Boil the noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broken noodles and cook as the label directs, then drain, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.
- Soften the onion: Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes.
- Brown the sausage: Add the sausage, garlic and oregano and cook, stirring and breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is browned, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until darkened, about 2 minutes.
- Simmer the soup: Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and 1 cup water, cover and bring to a simmer. Uncover and cook until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes.
- Finish and top: Stir in the noodles, chopped basil, Parmesan and heavy cream, then simmer 2 more minutes. Divide the soup among bowls and top with ricotta and sliced basil.
No nutrition panel is published for this recipe, so the calorie figure is estimated from the ingredients at four servings, ricotta topping included.
The failure points here are the noodles and the dairy, in that order.
FAQs
How many lasagna noodles is eight ounces?
About ten sheets, depending on the box, and they break into roughly three pieces each. Snap them over the pot so the shards stay in, since they scatter badly on a counter. Pieces around two inches fit a spoon without needing a knife.
Will the cream split?
Only if the pot is boiling when it goes in, so pull the heat down to a bare simmer first. Quarter cup of heavy cream is stable enough, though half-and-half curdles faster because it carries less fat. Add it off the boil and the two minutes afterward are plenty.
Hot sausage or sweet?
Picture the bowl with ricotta on it: sweet sausage lets the dairy read as creamy, while hot sausage turns it into a cooling counterweight. Mixing a quarter pound of each is the move if the table disagrees. Removing the casings matters either way, because sausage in its casing will not break up.
Can I freeze it?
Freeze the base before the noodles, basil, Parmesan and cream ever go in, because all four degrade badly. The tomato and sausage portion holds three months and loses nothing. Defrost it covered over medium heat, then add the final four and simmer two minutes.
Does the ricotta need to come to room temperature?
Cold ricotta straight from the tub chills the soup under it and sits in a lump, so let it stand twenty minutes first. Whole milk ricotta behaves better than part skim, which weeps water into the bowl. For a baked version that started all this, try a five cheese lasagna.
How do I make it vegetarian?
Brown ten ounces of chopped white button mushrooms in place of the sausage and switch to vegetable broth. Mushrooms need longer than three minutes to give up their water, so let them go until the pan is dry again. Red pepper flakes, half a teaspoon, replace the heat you lose, and a foil packet grilled lasagna is another meatless option.
